Deborah L. (Debbie) Trent is a public diplomacy and international development analyst with a Ph.D. from The George Washington University Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration. Her regional areas of expertise include the Near East, North Africa, South Asia, and Eurasia.

Trent is Program Co-Chair of the Public Diplomacy Council, is editing an upcoming book for the PDC on nontraditional public diplomacy, and is an adjunct professorial lecturer at American University. She coordinated the Council’s 2013 Fall Forum at the U.S. Department of State. Since 1998, she has been a consultant to colleges, universities, and education organizations designing and expanding international research/curriculum/faculty/development projects, most recently for the Global Humanities Institute at Montgomery College, Maryland. Trent has held positions including: a research fellowship at the Arab American Institute; teaching assistantships for masters-level courses; research coordinator at GW; coordinator of college and university partnerships and Fulbright program manager (former U.S. Information Agency); and a Presidential Management Internship (U.S. Customs Service, USIA).

In conjunction with public diplomacy and development, Trent’s research and teaching interests include: collaborative, cross-sector partnership and other engagement with diasporas; peacebuilding evaluation; democratic governance; and conflict mediation. She has presented papers on PD and diaspora diplomacy across key stakeholder groups. As a member of the Alliance for Peacebuilding, Trent contributes to the Network for Peacebuilding Evaluation and International Mediators Community of Practice and promotes the cost-effectiveness of the U.S. Institute of Peace, e.g., Peace Building's Vital Role in National Security: Best Value for Impact at All Levels (Fall 2013).

Post-doctoral research projects related to her dissertation – Transnational, Trans-Sectarian Engagement: A Revised Approach to U.S. Public Diplomacy toward Lebanon - include "American Diaspora Diplomacy: U.S. Foreign Policy and Lebanese Americans" and a proposal for transnational, interfaith public-private partnerships to promote non-violent conflict mediation through educational and cultural projects. With lead author Khaldoun AbouAssi, Trent published “Understanding Local Participation Amidst Challenges: Evidence from Lebanon in the Global South” (Voluntas, 2012, online first).

Trent has presented papers on PD and represented USIA programs at the International Studies Association, American Society for Public Administration, Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action, and other conferences and universities in the U.S. and abroad. Selected recognition includes: the (GWU) Sar and Brita Levitan Fellowship in Public Policy and Administration; USIA Certificate of Appreciation for Significant Contributions to Global Understanding; Pi Alpha Alpha Honor Society; Georgetown U. Co-Recipient, National Endowment for the Humanities Youth Grant; Georgetown U. Nominee, Fulbright-Hays Study Abroad grant, Cairo, Egypt; Johns Hopkins U. School of Advanced International Studies, Arabic Study Fellowships from Mobil Oil Corporation and the Sultanate of Oman; and the Dobro Slovo National Slavic Honor Society.